Factual Analysis: Race & Sports: A Multicultural Utopia or Bastion of Forbidden Truths?

Volume 11 · No. 1
Web Posted: August 2003

It is interesting that many would have us believe in sports, the utopian multicultural society exists where men of all races, creeds and colors compete for a common goal – to advance their respective teams.

While on the surface, that may appear to be true, in fact, race – and the differences between them – remains a very important part of the sporting society whether dealing with individual or team sports.

Now racial tension hovering just beneath the surface of the sports world for all of these years has now become the catalyst for discussion on news programs and in newspaper columns across the land.

Consider the following:

Black athletes are called “physical specimens” and lauded for their athleticism and speed, while their counterparts of the Caucasian persuasion are described as “smart” players who demonstrate “a thorough understanding and knowledge of the game.”

Black athletes rarely, if ever are given credit for their mental dexterity, or decision-making abilities, which is one of the fundamental aspects of achieving excellence in any sport.

A few years ago, relatively few Blacks played golf. The most well known was Black golfer was Calvin Peete. Now Tiger Woods – though he lacks identity consciousness – is dominating the world of golf so much so that it is considered an upset when he does not win.

A while back there were relatively few well-known tennis players who were not Caucasian. The most famous and well-respected Black tennis player was the late Arthur Ashe. Yannick Noah who was a Black man from France represented Blacks for a portion of time in the tennis world.

Now Venus and Serena Williams dominate the sport much to the chagrin of tennis purists. The William sisters are forced to compete against each other to have any real competition.

There is a move now to recruit more European born basketball players to the NBA. Of course, it goes without saying that the NBA is dominated by Black men.

Baseball still maintains an adequate representation of Caucasian players, however, the sport is dominated by Blacks and Latinos, so much so that many of the professional baseball teams have scouts dispatched to Latin America to recruit young athletes.

Football is also a sport that maintains a fair ration of Blacks and whites, however, a controversial issue, which involves hiring Blacks at the management level, plagues the National Football League.

Racial attitudes are ingrained and shape the views of those who are sporting spectators using it as a form of entertainment and those participating in the business end of sports.

This was never more evident than the uproar caused by comments made by Chicago Cubs Baseball Manager Dusty Baker. Some weeks ago, Baker came under attack as a result of comments he made regarding biological differences between the races. This is something that everyone inherently knows is correct even if they lack the information and data to back the assertion. It is also something that has been studied and documented by geneticists.

All men are not created equally, some are made to excel others.

The story died down almost as quickly as it hit the front pages of news periodicals across the country. Why? Because most journalists lean towards sensationalism and are deadline driven. It is for these reasons that much information released initially regarding current events or news happenings contain information based in fact yet lacking accuracy.

The numbers of those journalists with the commitment to the field necessary – and the integrity – to conduct further research are dwindling. Those with the courage to investigate that which made the comments news to begin with are apparently few and far between.

Delving further into the basis for Baker’s comments would have provided an excellent educational moment for those whose interest was peaked by his comments and been much more interesting than simply repeating stories reporting the supposed “outrage” generated by his words. Journalists could have made a contributed significantly to the intellectual expansion of those who read their words.

Of course, another major reason is that besides those who already view the world through the all-important prism of race, most are afraid to honestly and forthrightly confront the issue.

This will again be magnified as the world prepares for the upcoming media frenzy surrounding the latest athlete to be involved in controversy.

The world already knows that NBA Basketball star Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers has been charged with raping a 19-year-old Caucasian girl. Information is slowly leaking out about the alleged victim's mental instability including previous suicide attempts, and bizarre behavior discussed by her friends who seem to have no problem going public with their views, even though the identity of the alleged victim is supposed to be a closely guarded secret.

It is not at all surprising that the media attempts to release all the details it can get its hands on, whether accurate or not, however places the brakes on reporting when it comes to the alleged victim who may or may not be telling the truth.

There have been women known to tell untruths to gain advantage or money especially in moments where logic has vanished and emotions hurl out of control. There is a tendency for women at times, to do what they truly believe is expedient for them in the short-term without thought of the possible ramifications or how they and others will be affected in the long-term.

When it was announced, in listening to the talking heads on CNN, MSNBC and FOX, the public has already been polarized on the basis of race. For the record, it is the position of the TEI that the accuser -- if an adult -- should be named as well as the accused. False accusations and tarnished reputations are the unintended consequence and wasted by product of a society that relies increasingly on litigation to solve disputes.

The young girl who is Kobe’s accuser has no idea what she is in for, and indeed, her life has been changed forever, no matter what the outcome of the trial. The 400 media members representing over 120 media organizations will make sure of that. Just ask Monica Lewinsky.

No one can say what took place. No one except those who were present know what did or did not happen at the posh resort in Colorado where the alleged sexual assault was to have taken place. All we really know is what Kobe admitted to live on national television.

Kobe Bryant should be commended for standing up and stating forthrightly that he committed adultery. He should take his punishment like a man and workout whatever needs to be worked out privately with his wife – who appears at this time to be standing at his side.

With that being said, he should be roundly castigated and verbally lambasted for falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book used throughout time to limit and/or reduce the levels of male power and prestige – the promiscuous Caucasian female.

We can say without fear of being contradicted or proven wrong that over the next few months we will hear more details about that evening than we really care to know because of the formulaic strategies of the network and cable news media, and the laziness with which they conduct their reporting.

There are many who claim that there is a double standard that exists citing the comments of Al Campanis and Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder. You may or may not recall Jimmy "The Greek" made comments regarding the powerful bodies of Black people. He was summarily fired and branded as a racist, not by Blacks, but by Liberal whites. Al Campanis, at that time, an executive for the Los Angeles Dodgers made comments regarding the mental capacity of Blacks and their ability to think. They were in essence fired for stating publicly what many say privately, or don’t say yet strongly believe.

Jimmy "The Greek", Al Campanis, Dusty Baker, Tiger Woods are names that many are acquainted with, however people of the world do not look to these people to form their attitudes on race. They base their racial attitudes on their experiences and what they are taught. It is an overreaction by the media and should be kept in proper context. However, their activities and words have done much to raise topics that need to be discussed if the families of man are ever going to work out a way to peacefully coexist on the basis of truth.

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